


If You Go See The Sea (You'll Find Me Waiting)

by Unknown



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Brink of Death, Canon-Typical Violence, M/M, Magic, Selkie AU, Selkies, Steve is a Selkie, danny williams hates magic, it's funny because he's a navy seal, that can turn into a seal, this reads more like poetry at times
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-03
Updated: 2018-09-03
Packaged: 2019-07-06 12:59:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,356
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15886542
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Unknown/pseuds/Unknown
Summary: Steve was odd and smelled like the beach, but Danny always slept better at night if the last thing he did was speak to Steve.





	If You Go See The Sea (You'll Find Me Waiting)

Steve was odd.

He had a laser sharp focus and dead-set determination. Danny assumed it was the Navy SEAL influence that made him that way. But there was something else just on the edge of his awareness of Steve. Sometimes, Danny thought he glowed. Sometimes, he thought he heard the rush of water and wind when Steve walked by, smelled the tang of salt water when he sweat and was too close. Danny never minded the closeness, loved the smell. It was comforting, soothed a burn in his chest that Danny hadn’t known was there until that balm was applied.

Yes, they had been rough with each other when they first met, but now, there was a gentleness they demonstrated toward each other, as though they knew no one else would do it. Maybe Danny had never been a SEAL and Steve had never been a proper detective or cop, walking a beat and connecting with people he was working with directly. But the violence they had experienced in their lives was on par with each other. They recognized something kindred in the other and fed into it, nourished it, healed it.

So yes, Steve was odd and smelled like the beach, but Danny always slept better at night if the last thing he did was speak to Steve.

* * *

Steve was deceptive.

He was definitely the person Danny would carry his secrets to if he needed someone to keep them. But Danny didn’t have any secrets, and it seemed that Steve had too many. He asked Steve if he swam in the ocean behind his family house every morning because he always smelled like the sand and surf, and Steve laughed but never answered. He asked Steve why being a SEAL had appealed to him and Steve had smiled, muttered some plastic, military-grade platitudes. He asked Steve about his mother and Steve’s eyes had fallen into sad shadow when he pulled out a photo of a dyed-blonde school teacher with no more explanation than that.

Steve’s body looked lean and muscled from afar, but when he pulled Danny into a hug, he felt incredibly soft. His hands were hard and calloused, but gentle when they grasped Danny’s shoulder to make sure he was alright. He barked orders out on a raid but rumbled soothingly to Grace when she was over and having a hard time. Steve showed Danny one thing and then turned out to be something else, something better. Danny felt his head spin on a daily basis when it came to the other man, his best friend, his brother in arms. Something more? How could one man full of such violent potential be so righteously good?

So, the seal pelt hanging up in Steve’s house was surprising.

It was a gorgeous, washed-out grey like the ash that sprinkles down from a volcano, speckled with the molten black of cooling lava, and shadowed with the sparkling purple of hardened obsidian. The eyes were closed, the fins spread out in mid-swim. It was encased fully in glass and sat above the fireplace, like a trophy would, but Danny knew it was no trophy. There was something reverent about its position in the house, how the eye could not help but be drawn to it upon first walking into the room. One side of the case was hinged, as though one could swing open the glass and take the pelt down. But the side to unlock it from was padlocked. An openable case with a closed lock. Another deception.

“What’s up with the dead animal skin?” Danny asked the first time he saw it, almost awed into silence at its beauty. A seal pelt, in Hawaii. “You kill it yourself or something?”

Steve eyed the pelt, a look of longing in his eyes but also one of determination and resentment.

“Yeah,” he said. “Something like that.”

* * *

Steve was fast.

Whether it be running after a perp, drawing his weapon, or driving down the Poly Highway, Steve was always a blur. He dove off a boat after a perp, his body a line that cut straight through the ocean foam. He swam, quick and sleek, like a predator cutting through water. That man had no chance with Steve going after him. He wrapped his arms around the perp in a chokehold, dragged him back, and launched him on deck before slithering out of the water himself. He shook his whole body, spraying Danny and Kono. Chin knew well enough to have already taken a step back. Steve smiled at them all.

It had been Steve’s quick mind that had put the pieces together for this case. He had tracked the perp out to the docks, jumped quick as a jackrabbit onto his steadily moving boat, and finally chased him into the deep. Steve’s brain was fast too; how he put clues together at that speed and came out with results like that was anybody’s guess. Danny sometimes sat up at night and went through Steve’s thought process for agonizing hours before he realized the small detail that it had taken Steve minutes to find. It was usually the piece they needed to solve everything.

Now, Steve caught the towel Kono through him with a laugh. He looped it around his neck, over his bare shoulders. The only thing he had discarded when he had jumped in were his shirt and shoes. The cargo pants had stayed firmly on. Danny could lament about that later though, as the view now was wonderful. Water dripped down Steve’s back and chest in beads, tracing the lines of his muscles, highlighting the freckles and birthmarks on his skin. His hair spiked up with saltwater, the overall wetness making his skin gleam. He was grinning. Anyone looking at Steve could see that he was as at home in the water as he was in the driver’s seat of Danny’s car. To see him so elated was to see him at his happiest.

He was lovely.

“You got wandering eyes, Danno?” Steve called, and Danny’s eyes snapped back to Steve’s face, a pleased grin plastered across it along with a generous flush of his cheeks. The swim had most certainly _not_ tired him out or made him exert himself in anyway, so this was all his reaction to Danny’s stare.

Steve was fast in body and mind, but it seemed he was also fast in instinct, to react to what Danny was, admittedly, unintentionally giving him.

Danny scoffed. “Look at you, with your military-fit body, flaunting around because you know you look better than literally all of us put together,” Danny said, trying to cover his tracks.

“I wouldn’t say all of you,” Steve responded, walking over. His eyes dragged up the length of Danny’s body, raking over him without remorse. “I mean, you’re not so bad yourself, Jersey.”

“Oh, it’s Jersey now?” Danny laughed. There was a flutter in his chest at the compliment, a locking of eyes that acknowledged, yes, sometimes Danny stared too long. He pointed to Steve. “No, not feeling it, babe.” Danny called everyone babe, and no one had ever commented on it. But right now, in the midst of this conversation, it felt different. Steve’s grin shrunk into something more private and genuine. The curves of his mouth were like the curves of the waves lapping at the boat they were on. A strong one hit the side, and Danny went sprawling. But Steve was there, like he always was, and caught him in those arms, holding him up.

“I guess I’ll just have to stick with Danno then,” Steve said, straightening Danny up but not stepping away or letting go. His hands clung to Danny’s forearms and stayed there. Steve raised his eyebrows and dropped them. _“Babe.”_

Later, Steve asked Danny out to dinner, a proper one where Steve paid. Danny had been thinking of doing the same, but Steve was always faster.

* * *

Steve was warm.

His skin was so warm, even after he had been swimming in the frigid Pacific. His wet lips against Danny’s always felt like fire, even as he dripped cold water on everyone and everything. Danny had asked once if Steve had a thin layer of blubber on all that muscle he had on him, or if he was just magic. Something had lit behind Steve’s eyes as he smiled, nice and slow.

“What if I said it was both?” Steve replied, wrapping them both in a blanket as the sun went down and the night turned chilly. They sat in his backyard, looking out at the water he had just come out of.

“I’d say that’s excessive, and you only need one of those traits,” Danny said, playing along. “Give me one.”

It was a harmless comment, but something in Steve’s face and body changed. He was radiating heat, so Danny moved closer anyway.

“Maybe one day I will,” Steve murmured, something on his mind that Danny just couldn’t reach.

Danny decided to tell Grace about their budding relationship a few months into it. Sure, she knew Steve as her father’s best friend and work partner but knowing Steve as her father’s boyfriend and life partner was altogether a different thing. Danny was more nervous than he should have been. Grace and Steve were the same as ever, even after Danny had explained that now, Danny and Steve would be holding hands and occasionally kissing, but only when they thought Grace wasn’t looking.

“You’re silly, Danno,” Grace said with a smile. “I don’t care who you kiss as long as you have some left for me.”

“Oh, I have plenty of smooches for you, monkey, c’mere,” Danny said, pulling her in with a laugh. He kissed all over her face and blew raspberries into her neck just to hear her shriek. When he looked up, Steve was leaning against the doorjamb, a soft smile on his face.

“Steve?” Grace said, at dinner that night. “What’s the animal you have above the fireplace?”

“That’s a Hawaiian monk seal,” Steve replied. “It’s one of the only mammals native to the islands.”

“Did you kill it?” Grace asked, a troubled look on her face. Steve glanced to Danny before answering Grace.

“Not really,” Steve said. “It was tired, and it came onshore to rest. And it decided to stay here. It had been through a lot, had plenty of scars and wanted some peace. I keep the pelt to remember that maybe there’s a whole wide world out _there_.” He pointed out the nearest window with his fork, indicating the world past the ocean. “But my home is right _here_.” He pointed down at the table, indicating the island. “With you and Danno.” Steve smiled, the sight sending sparks of heat through Danny’s stomach. Grace was smiling too.

A while later, Rachel pulled up to pick Grace up. She had been kind enough to let Danny have Grace for the day, so he could break the news about him and Steve. Before she was set to leave, Grace came over and kissed him on the cheek. She hesitated, then turned to Steve, hugged him, and did the same. Steve held her close for a moment, eyes closed, and in complete bliss. Danny resisted the urge to snap a picture.

At that moment, Rachel beeped, and Steve let Grace go. Danny walked her to the car door and obliged when she gestured for him to come closer to her before they pulled away, so she could whisper in his ear.

“What’s up?” Danny said.

“I like you being with Steve,” Grace told him. “His hands are really warm.”

That night, as they lay in bed, pressed together with Steve not quite sweating and Danny’s body refusing to stay dry, Danny agreed with her. Steve’s hands _were_ warm. But then again, so was his heart.

* * *

Steve was beautiful.

Danny had always known this, from the moment he saw Steve’s green hued eyes, sizing him up and calculating. Steve was military, so he was fit, but he was active, so he stayed that way. Steve was continually striving for the good of others and his altruistic streak made him gorgeous in a dark room. His voice was low and gravelly. Its steadiness could lead one out of any crisis and any promise that it proclaimed could be trusted. Though he only wore those god-awful cargo pants and short-sleeved shirts, they clung to him with purpose and grace.

Steve’s body naked was like a wild force of nature.

From the first time Danny accidentally saw when they were changing at Steve’s house from a day at the beach, to this moment, when Steve was writhing beneath him, Danny knew Steve was to be reckoned with. His stamina was unmatched, his strength too. It was enough to take Danny’s breath away, and it did. Steve’s legs were wrapped around Danny’s waist, or his back was arched so Danny could slot behind him perfectly, like two puzzle pieces made to fit together. There was a force attaching Steve to Danny, like Steve inhaled every one of Danny’s exhales, and Danny did the reverse.

Afterwards, they didn’t need to speak, they just breathed into the silence, wrapped around each other and basking in it. Danny chuckled and muttered _it’s about time_ , and Steve playfully elbowed him in the ribs, told him to shut it, and go to sleep. But he was happy. Danny could tell, because he smelled like the sweet ocean brine on a cool day, sea spray misting the shore.

“I’m glad your happy,” Danny said.

“Why wouldn’t I be?” Steve responded.

“You’ve got so much else going on in your life, I sometimes wonder if I’m enough to beat it all back,” Danny admitted.

“You’re enough,” Steve assured him. “Trust me, you’re more than enough.”

* * *

Steve was devastated.

He had brought his mother back with him to Honolulu, and though he was all smiles for their friends, his eyes spoke a different truth when they turned on Danny. That night, Steve laid quietly in Danny’s arms, still. It was wrong; Steve should be frothing, should be constantly moving like the waves hitting the shore, like the tide going in and out. But he was stagnant, like the water in a man-made bay, tepid and desolate.

“She was my mother. And she left us thinking she was dead,” Steve whispered into the dark. “Me and her, we were closest. I’m more like her than anyone else knows.” There was something heavy in his words, another secret that Danny wouldn’t know, not tonight anyway.

“You’re not the type to up and leave the ones you love,” Danny countered, afraid that this was what Steve thought of himself. He knew Steve. Steve would never let those he was closest to suffer in that way, not when he knew the biting pain of it so well. He would hold on as firmly but gently as possible and treat those he held in such high esteem with the utmost devotion and respect.

“No,” Steve agreed. “No, I’d never leave you like that.” Danny let the significance of that wash over them, let it float about the room and crash down on them, a wave of unspoken emotion.  

“I know,” Danny said, swallowing around the lump suddenly in his throat. “I know you wouldn’t. I won’t either.” Danny would never leave him like that. He would never want to.

“What if one day, you don’t have a choice?” Steve murmured. His words ghosted over Danny’s skin, landed firmly between his ribs, and grew into a terrible feeling of unease.

“Is there something you’re worried about?” Danny asked, tightening his arms around Steve, pulling him closer, and resting his chin on the man’s shoulder. Steve’s hands found Danny’s wrists and held on, a drowning man holding onto a piece of driftwood out at sea.

“I’m always worried, Danny,” Steve whispered. “About some things more than others. I love my mother, but I know trouble when I see it.”

The room was dark enough that Danny couldn’t even see the back of Steve’s head in front of him. But he didn’t have to see Steve to recognize when the other man was afraid. It didn’t sit well with Danny, that this man who was the first to stare danger and death in the face was suddenly cowering in front of it when it threatened to touch those closest to him.

“Hey, whatever it is, we can handle this. Together,” Danny insisted. “I love you, too, you know.” Danny was not deaf; he heard the words that Steve could not get out.

“I know,” Steve replied. He held on tighter. “That’s what I’m worried about.”

* * *

Steve was gone.

Danny had moved into the McGarrett household just a few weeks ago and was still marveling at cohabiting with the man he loved. Doris, Steve’s mother, was around more often than not, and though she was always cordial and hospitable toward him, Danny always felt a sense of cold to their interactions.

He came home a bit early from work today, as Grace was with her mother, and Steve had taken the day to help _his_ mother with something or other. Danny had expected to come home to the two of them dawdling about or working on a project of some sort, but no one was around.

The case on the wall above the fireplace was empty.

Danny pulled his gun and crouched, calling out in the house. Steve loved the pelt, looked at it with longing and a modicum of disgust, yes, but he cherished it regardless. If it was gone, someone must have taken it. And if someone had broken in to steal it, Steve would have definitely fought them for it. An emotional and fighting Steve was not a good combination in Danny’s experience. Anything could have gone wrong. Steve could be bleeding out in a hallway or their bedroom for all Danny knew.

“Steve!” he yelled again. He looked out a window and lost his focus. Out back, it seemed there were _seals_ swimming in the ocean. He lost himself for a moment, admiring their beauty and the serendipity it must have taken for him to be at _this_ window at _this_ moment when they were swimming so close by. But the he snapped out of it and continued with his search, clearing the first and second floors of the house. No one was there. There was no sign of forced entry or a struggle. The pelt was simply missing. And so was Steve. “Steve!” Danny yelled again. It sounded more like a scream, a hysterical edge to it. Danny _knew_ something was wrong, he just didn’t know what.

“Danny?” Danny spun around. Steve stood in the doorway of the kitchen, leading in from the backyard. He was dripping with water and only clad in a towel thrown around his waist. “Danny, are you okay?” Steve said, walking in. Danny caught him up in his arms and hugged him close. “Danno?”

“You scared the crap outta me,” Danny breathed, his whole body shaking. “I saw that seal skin gone and I know you love that thing, and you weren’t here or answering me, so I assumed someone tried to take it and they _did_ something to you and-”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, okay. Calm down, I’m fine,” Steve said, pulling back. He had his hands on Danny’s shoulders and squeezed. “My mom and I went for a swim. She wanted to see the pelt, so I took it outside for her. It’s on the backyard table. We’re fine, we just couldn’t hear you.” It wasn’t a lie, but something about the explanation seemed off. However, when Danny looked outside, the pelt was there, Doris standing by it with something he couldn’t quite see folded in her lap. Danny let out a sigh of relief, pressing his forehead to Steve’s shoulder.

“Please, just answer me like a normal human being next time. Or text me beforehand saying you’re not gonna be in the house. Just _something_ , please.”

“You got it, Danno,” Steve said, cupping Danny’s face in his large, warm hands and pressing a kiss to his mouth. Wet, but searing hot. Steve’s core temperature had to be higher than the standard 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit. Danny couldn’t explain it any other way. Steve had once said he was made for the water, and Danny had taken it as a joke, but he was beginning to wonder if maybe there was more to it than that.

“What’s for dinner, then?” Danny asked, pulling away and feeling better.

“Dunno,” Steve replied. He turned his head to yell for Doris. “Hey, Mom! You staying for dinner?”

Doris walked into the house, whatever had been in her lap folded and put away into the small chest she was carrying against her side. She eyed the two of them, at their bodies pressed so close, at Danny’s stature, his face. Danny knew she was sizing him up, judging him based on _something_ , but he didn’t know what and he didn’t care enough to know.

“No, I should be heading back to my place,” she responded. She smiled at Danny, then looked at Steve. “We should do this more often.” Not _we should do this again_ , as Danny had thought she might, but rather _more often._ The implication struck Steve as well, and he frowned.

“I think today was more than enough for a while,” Steve insisted. Danny felt as though they were picking up on an old argument that he was not privy to. They stared at each other for a long, tense moment, looking so like each other that Danny got goosebumps. If only the looks on their faces were not so grim and serious.

“Alright,” Doris said, breaking first. She wished them both a good night and headed out, but Danny swore that when she flicked her eyes to him one last time, there was a flash of resentment in them.

“Everything okay with you two?” Danny asked, shutting and locking the door. When he turned, Steve was already locking the pelt away. Danny wondered if he was imagining things, or if it was _also_ dripping water.

“Uh, yeah, we’re okay,” Steve said, voice strained. He locked the case and sighed. His towel chose that moment to slip free, and Steve yelped as he tried to catch it. Danny was lucky enough to catch an eyeful of Steve’s ass, which somehow managed to be just as tan as the rest of his body.

“Were you swimming naked?” Danny teased.

“No,” Steve blurted. “I was – I was changing out of my trunks when I heard you,” he recovered. Danny frowned, but let it go.

“Hey, while you were out there, did you see those seals?” Danny asked, making his way to the kitchen to start dinner.

“What?” Steve said. Danny didn’t turn toward him, but he was sure he heard something in Steve’s voice that spoke of surprise and fear.

“Yeah, they were swimming out back. Saw them from the window upstairs when I was looking for you in the house.” Danny turned back and smiled, wanting to put Steve at ease. “Hey, relax. It’s not like I called animal patrol on them. Besides,” Danny continued. He turned back around toward the kitchen counter where he was getting vegetables ready to chop.

“What?” Steve asked, voice tentative as he made his way into the kitchen as well.

“Well,” Danny said with a shrug. “I thought they were the most beautiful things I had ever seen.”

* * *

Steve was troubled.

Or, at least it looked that way to Danny. For the whole day he had been pacing and cagey. Even Chin had commented and asked Steve to go for a walk before he set the rest of them on edge. Steve had taken the advice to heart and had disappeared for a few hours before returning with a look of calm on his face. He took Danny by the hand and dragged him to his office, closing the door behind them.

“Hey, babe. You okay?” Danny asked.

Steve reached under his shirt collar and pulled out a chain with a key on the end. He unclasped the chain from around his neck and walked over to Danny with it. Standing behind Danny, Steve looped the chain and key around Danny’s neck and clasped it together. He rested his hands on Danny’s shoulders, smoothing down his dress shirt and rubbing the back of Danny’s neck with his thumbs. Steve pressed a kiss to the skin of Danny’s neck and sighed.

“Um, what’s with the jewelry?” Danny asked, a hand coming up to touch the key at his neck. He vaguely recognized the color of the metal and the style of key. Steve came back around to stand in front of him.

“That’s the key to the seal pelt,” Steve said, sitting on the edge of his desk and crossing his arms. “I want you to hang onto it for me.”

“For how long?” Danny asked, pressing the soft, fleshy pad of his thumb to the sharp edges of the key.

“Well,” Steve said, looking away and rubbing the back of his neck. “For as long as you’ll have me, I guess.”

Danny let the words ring out into the office. This man in front of him, as tempestuous as the sea on a stormy night, strong as the sun-bleached bone from a whale, proud as the wind coming down from the mountainside – here he was, baring himself to Danny, embracing that vulnerability.

“Is this what you’ve been antsy about all day?” Danny asked instead of answering.

“Maybe,” Steve admitted, peaking up at him and flashing a half smile. “So?”

“Well, in terms of romance, I guess it’s okay,” Danny teased. “An old key doesn’t really have a lot of flare though, does it? Still, that’s one hell of a proposal,” Danny said. He stopped, hand wrapped around the key. “Unless I misinterpreted-”

“No, no, that’s exactly what that was,” Steve assured him, coming up to him and cupping his face in those warm, quick hands. “I’m just – I didn’t know what else to do. To make you understand what you mean to me.”

Danny didn’t understand, that was for sure. The pelt meant something to Steve, reminded him where he truly felt safe and at home. He trusted Danny to care for that, wanted him to. It was enough.

“Then yes, of course you goof,” Danny replied with a smile. “You’re not gonna get rid of me now.”

“That was sort of the point, Danno,” Steve admitted.

Danny vowed to himself never to take the necklace off.

* * *

Steve was upset.

“Hey, c’mon, talk to me. That’s what I’m here for,” Danny insisted.

“It’s Wo Fat,” Steve spat, slamming his hands on his desk. Chin and Kono looked at each other from the corners of their eyes, then back to Danny. It looked like it was his turn to calm Steve down. “He’s going after my mother.”

“We know this and have put a security detail on her,” Danny reminded Steve. “Plus, she’s a former CIA operative. She can take care of herself.”

“Not with him,” Steve yelled. Danny sighed. “He knows things about her that no one else does. He knows….” Steve trailed off, looking perturbed.

“He knows what?” Danny prompted.

“He knows her weakness,” Steve whispered before putting his face in his hands and sighing. He rubbed a one of his hands down his face and looked up at Danny.

“So, what, her weakness is you so he’s coming after you, or something?” Danny asked.

“I’m not her weakness, Danny,” Steve growled. “People’s weakness are not always the people they’re close to or love, okay?” Steve snapped. “There are other things, there are _bigger things_ that he’s going after her for.”

Danny knew it wasn’t a dig at him, at _them_ , but it still felt like it. And apparently, it sounded like it too if Chin and Kono’s grimaces were anything to go by. Danny sighed and tried not to let it hurt. Steve was understandably upset.

“Then what can we do to help?” Danny asked, voice calm and steady. “What can we do to help?”

It seemed to break Steve out of whatever funk he had been in because he looked up at Danny’s words and saw the faces of his friends and lover looking at him with concern and care. Steve sighed and closed his eyes, unable to face them after an outburst like that. But it hadn’t sent them running; they were still loyal.

“I’m sorry,” Steve murmured. “I’m – I’m sorry. I just don’t know what will help. I don’t know what to do. She won’t let me help her, but I want to. I want to.” Chin nodded to Kono and she nodded back. The cousins took a step toward the office door and waited, but Danny waved them off. At this point, he was the only one who could help. Once they were gone, he walked over to Steve and sat on the desk beside where he had laid his head. He scritched his short nails against Steve’s scalp in a soothing pattern of back and forth and around.

“You need to breathe,” Danny reminded him. Steve looked up with sad eyes, two whirlpools sucking Danny’s resolve away.

“I’m sorry, Danno,” he said. Danny tried to wave him off, but Steve caught Danny’s hand in his and held on tight. “No, stop. I was wrong to snap at you all, but what I said about my mom’s weakness… I know what that sounded like, and it was unfair.”

“It’s okay, Steve,” Danny sighed.

“No, it’s not,” Steve insisted.

“No, it’s not,” Danny agreed. “But you apologized, and I believe you and understand that you’re upset and didn’t mean it.”

“Danny,” Steve started, then stopped. He stood up and pulled Danny into a hug. With his face pressed into Steve’s neck like this, Danny could smell the salt of the ocean and the tang of sweet sweat on Steve’s skin. “I may not be my mother’s weakness, but you’re definitely mine,” Steve murmured.

Danny wrapped his arms around Steve’s body and held him close.

* * *

Steve was afraid.

Actually, terrified was a better word to use in this instance, or so Danny thought. Wo Fat had them all out on the beach in the backyard of his and Steve’s house, gun in hand. Doris was standing across from him, her seal pelt in hand. Steve was on his knees, bloodied and bruised, by Wo Fat’s feet.

And Danny, Danny had walked into the house late from dropping off Grace with her mother to find an empty house, with definite signs of a struggle. The glass from the case with the seal pelt was broken into shards, blood all over the frame and the glass on the floor. The seal pelt was gone. There was yelling from outside in the back and Danny had run over to find the current mess in front of him.

“Detective Williams,” Wo Fat said, calm as ever. “You are here just in time.”

“He has nothing to do with this, Wo Fat,” Steve said, spitting blood. Wo Fat ignored him. He had something in his other hand and Danny saw that it was the seal pelt.

“Okay, is there like, gold or government secrets sewn into that damn seal skin or what?” Danny yelled, hands up and away from his gun, just in case Wo Fat felt too threatened and decided to shoot Steve.

“He doesn’t know,” Wo Fat said, addressing Steve and Doris. “You have not told him.”

“I don’t know what?” Danny asked.

“No, he doesn’t know,” Doris said. Danny tried not to let the surprise show on his face. He was sure Doris didn’t like him, but it sounded like for once she was trying to do something good for him. “Let him go. Let them both go, and we won’t have a problem. You can have mine, Wo Fat. Just take mine.” She reached out her seal pelt and laid it on the sand.

“Mom, no,” Steve said. “No, that’s your life. It’s your life. Let him take mine, I don’t care about it. You know it never called me.”

“Shut up, both of you,” Danny said. “What don’t I know, since the Family McGarrett seem intent on keeping me in the dark?” he asked Wo Fat.

“Danny,” Steve started.

“Shut up, Steven,” Danny snapped.

“They are selkies,” Wo Fat said.

“They’re what now?” Danny responded.

“Beings who are part seal, part human. They are _magic_ and take their power from the seal pelts they are born wearing. The sea sings to them, calls to them, and they answer by donning the pelt and swimming in her.” He shook Steve’s in his hand and pointed to Doris’ with his gun. “A selkie may not return to the sea if they do not have their pelt, but they will continue to hear her song and go mad.” Wo Fat grins. “One who possesses the pelt of a selkie has their soul. They are said to have healing powers and properties of luck. I do not wish one for my own, but I know many who would.” He flicked his eyes back to Doris. “And I know of two such selkies who I would not mind taking them from.”

“That’s just stupid,” Danny laughed, the sound hysterical even to his own ears. All three of them stared at him, as though he was the crazy one. “C’mon, you guys. You can’t seriously believe…”

But then, of course, some things did make sense.

Steve, his ocean smell, his water prowess. His obsession and love for the pelt. His gift of the case’s key to Danny when they got engaged. Doris and her own pelt, her obvious dislike for Danny, not because of who he was as a person but because he was not _one of them_ and was obviously stopping Steve from fully giving himself over to the siren song of the sea. Danny wanted to argue that it was Steve’s choice, that he had stopped using the pelt long before he met Danny, if its original state of being locked up in the house was anything to go by. Steve’s story to Grace made sense now; he was the seal that had been tired and washed up on shore, that had decided to stay on land rather than return to the tumult of the water. Danny could see how in a way he had killed the seal, or at least that part of himself. He had refused to return to his double-life. Danny only made him want to stay all the more.

“If you don’t even want them, then leave them be, Wo Fat,” Danny said, changing tracks. Maybe it was too hard to believe, but there was a gleam in Steve’s eyes when he Wo Fat had spoken, and Steve had been beaten for this thing. It can’t all be a lie, a mass hallucination or group delusion.

There had always been something on the periphery when Danny looked at Steve. Maybe this was it.

“You’re not a fool, Detective Williams,” Wo Fat said. “Do not try to convince me that you are. This has nothing to do with you. In that, they are correct. I will let you go, now, as long as you do not call the authorities on your exit. If you do that, I will kill them both.” He threw Steve’s pelt next to Doris’ on the sand and cocked his gun. Doris choked on a sob.

“I don’t – I don’t understand why you shooting their seal skins is threatening,” Danny said.

“Danny just walk away,” Steve said. “Danny go, _go!”_

“If I shoot their pelts, it kills them instantly,” Wo Fat told Danny, ignoring Steve. Danny felt his stomach lurch.

“Okay, Steve, if this selkie stuff if bullshit you need to tell me now,” Danny said. Steve hanged his head and his shoulders heaved with sobs. “Steve, you need to tell me _now!”_

“I’m sorry, Danny,” Steve finally said, his words broken. “I was going to tell you when we got married…”

“You two are engaged?” Doris yelped. There was a mix of sadness and anger in her eyes. “Steve.”

“I’m done with this, Mom, I told you. It was the first time in almost 20 years that I used the pelt for fun and not for a mission with my SEAL team,” Steve snapped. “Danny, run. Don’t call anyone. Just leave.”

“If I do that, then what?” Danny asked, addressing Wo Fat.

“You live. Doris will live, but will be imprisoned by someone who will use her and her pelt until she dies,” Wo Fat said, his stare eerie and blank.

“And Steve, what about Steve?” Danny asked.

“Steve will die either way,” Wo Fat said.

“No!” both Danny and Doris yell.

“No way, you let him go and you take Doris, and you just – you just leave,” Danny said. “Steve I’m sorry, but you’re mom loses either way, I’m not letting him kill you.”

“Steve, he’s right,” Doris said. “I brought this down on you.” She turned to Wo Fat. “Wo Fat, take me and lets leave.”

“No,” he said, flicking the safety off his gun. Danny made a move and Wo Fat pressed the barrel to Steve’s forehead. Danny stopped. “You do not _suffer_ enough if all I do is take you and sell you off to the highest bidder. And your son went against me too many times.”

“Why shoot the pelt?” Danny said, trying to distract Steve. “You – you’re threatening me by putting the gun to his head, but you want to shoot the pelt? Doesn’t make sense man.”

“If I shoot the pelt, Steven will die, and you will not be able to use the pelt to heal him as it will be damaged,” Wo Fat said. Doris closed her eyes and whined at the back of her throat. “I do not want him to live.”

“Danny look away,” Steve said, already closing his eyes as Wo Fat pointed his gun.

“You may leave, Detective Williams. My business is not with you,” Wo Fat intoned as he aimed.

“No way, no way, no way,” Danny muttered to himself, thinking and failing to come up with a plan, with _anything_ that got Steve out of this alive.

“Goodbye Commander McGarrett,” Wo Fat said, pulling the trigger.

It was fast, too fast for Danny to realize what he had done on instinct until Steve had his gun and was emptying a clip into Wo Fat.

“Oh god,” Danny moaned, his face in the sand and his mouth tasting like blood.

He had jumped onto Steve’s pelt, and Wo Fat had shot him in the back at least three times before he realized. Steve had rolled for Danny’s gun and killed Wo Fat on the spot. The exchange had happened in under 10 seconds. Doris hadn’t even been able to move or shout.

Steve rolled Danny onto his back and right into his arms. He yelled for his mother to move and hand him his pelt but Doris stood there, her own pelt in hand with Steve’s between them.

“Hold on, hold on Danny, I’m not letting you die, I’m not letting you die – _Mom! Give it to me_ ,” Steve yelled.

“I – I can’t,” Doris said, clutching her pelt to her chest. “I can’t help you make this decision.”

“Then leave! Go!” Steve yelled, dragging them both across the sand until his blood-slippery fingers can curl around the corner of his pelt. “Fucking leave!”

“Steve, this is a mistake,” Doris said. “You know it is. You cannot live without your pelt.”

“Steve,” Danny spluttered. Everything was cold and not even Steve’s warm hands could chase the chill away. “I’m gonna die, let it – leave it…”

“No!” Steve yelled. He looked up at his mother. “I told you, the sea never called to me. Not like it did for you.”

“You can only heal someone else once,” Doris said. “ _Once_ , Steven. You’re pelt will shrivel away afterward. It’s the ultimate sacrifice if you use it on someone else and not yourself. Our magic doesn’t work well with others, you will _never_ be able to return to the sea, not like you used to.” She swallowed. “You won’t ever be able to see the rest of us again.” Oh great, Danny thought dimly as he lost all feeling and the ability to move. More half-seal people. Perfect.

“I don’t care,” Steve insisted, struggling to get the pelt over to Danny. “I don’t care.”

“You’ll never be able to hear the song of the sea again,” Doris tried again, one last attempt. “Not like you used to.”

“Mom,” Steve gasped, desperate. “ _Mom_ , I don’t need it.” He sobbed. “When I lay in bed with him at night and put my head to his chest, I can hear her song in the beat of his heart.” Danny couldn’t see anymore, could only hear Steve’s words and sobs. He wasn’t going to make it. “And it’s the most beautiful song that I have _ever_ heard.” Danny got jostled as Steve moved them closer to their goal. “All I need is him. All I need is him.”

When Danny next came to, he was lying shirtless in the sand with dried blood crusted on his skin and Steve staring down at him with tears and relief in his eyes.

“Hey, Danno,” Steve hiccoughed. He pressed their foreheads together and Danny basked in it until he realized _he should not be alive._

“Holy shit!” Danny yelled, pulling away from Steve and scrambling to sit up. He patted down his chest but found nothing but four, starburst scars scattered across his skin. Danny looked at his chest then to Steve, then back again. “What the fuck, Steven?”

Steve’s only answer was to reach beside him and hand Danny a shriveled-up flap of matted fur. Danny frowned at it until he recognized the speckles and color. It was Steve’s seal pelt, or rather, what was left of it. He turned it over in his hands and then looked up at Steve was confusion in his eyes.

“I had to save you,” Steve said with a shrug, wiping at his face. His hands left a streak of blood, Danny’s blood, across his forehead. “It doesn’t matter what happened with that. I haven’t used my pelt for years – the first time was when my mom resurfaced.”

“You threw all of that away,” Danny said, searching Steve’s face. “For me?”

“I didn’t want all of that,” Steve said. “I want _you_.” He took Danny’s hands in both of his. “I can only hope you want me, too, after all of this.”

Danny laughed, unsure about what the hell just happened, but very sure about where he stood with the man in front of him.

“Babe, you’re the only thing I’m sure about. _Of course_ I want you, too.” He untangled the chain and key from around his neck. “I’ve got this, don’t I?”

“Yeah,” Steve said, wrapping his hand around Danny’s hand that was holding the key. “You do.”

* * *

Steve was in love.

Danny wouldn’t let it go to his head, but sometimes, Steve looked at him with this complete face of infatuation and adoration with a level of devotion that took his breath away. And yes, Steve loved the ocean and the way he felt when he swam, loved the feel of the salty breeze in his hair and the sun kissing his skin. But he also loved Danny and the way he felt when they were together, the feel of Danny’s hands running through his hair, and how Danny’s lips kissed his skin.

When they laid on the beach in the light of the setting sun, Danny knew there was no place else he would rather be than here, by the sea, with Steve beside him. Steve would always be there waiting, because Steve was in love.

And Danny was in love, too.

**Author's Note:**

> Title comes from the song _Se tu fores ver o mar (Rosalinda)_ by Fausto. It's a Portuguese song that literally translates to If You Go See The Sea. I'm Azorean Portuguese and it spurred this fic about selkies and Steve. Also, Steve is a Nave _SEAL_. C'mon. That's perfect. Where's the rest of the selkie!Steve fic?????? 
> 
> Anyway, Wo Fat explains, but selkies are people who have the pelt of the seal and can live in and out of the water. The only seals native to Hawaii are the Hawaiian Monk Seal, so that's what Steve is. Steve has made the conscious decision to tell the sea to fuck off by hanging up his pelt and being done with it. Idk if there are actual magical properties to the selkie pelt besides turning the owner into a seal, but it is true to lore that selkies can't return to the sea if they have their pelt stolen or taken from them. Its just not the same. Anyway, Doris ran away to the ocean in this as well, if people didn't pick up on that. But yeah anyway. 
> 
> Also inspired by the film _Song of the Sea_ which I saw in theatres in Wales in the summer of 2015 and it was _great_ , and way more tragic than this fic is. But yeah, still about selkies. Apparently there's a calling to the sea that selkies get and to satisfy it, they go into the water as a seal. But... I like to think love is stronger than any of that shit, so here we go I guess.


End file.
